EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE
Abstract. A moderately diverse terrestrial biota is known from the Eocene - ?early Oligocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The La Meseta Formation fills an incised valley and comprises sediments that represent deltaic, estuarine and very shallow marine environments. Fores...
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Asociación Paleontológica Argentina
2015
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0786b2ad4f3b40e4a5728d59be7287cf 2023-05-15T13:54:29+02:00 EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE Marcelo A. Reguero Sergio F. Vizcaíno Francisco J. Goin Sergio A. Marenssi Sergio N. Santillana 2015-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/0786b2ad4f3b40e4a5728d59be7287cf EN ES eng spa Asociación Paleontológica Argentina https://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/view/190 https://doaj.org/toc/2469-0228 2469-0228 https://doaj.org/article/0786b2ad4f3b40e4a5728d59be7287cf Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Vol 5, Iss 1 (2015) Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 article 2015 ftdoajarticles 2022-12-31T08:42:52Z Abstract. A moderately diverse terrestrial biota is known from the Eocene - ?early Oligocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The La Meseta Formation fills an incised valley and comprises sediments that represent deltaic, estuarine and very shallow marine environments. Forests of both deciduous and evergreen trees were dominated by Nothofagus, podocarps, and araucarian conifers. The La Meseta paleoflora is distinctive in having a predominance of Antarctic taxa; this suggests a seasonal, cold-temperate, rainy climate and a latitudinal gradient. Among the terrestrial vertebrates, there are at least nine mammal taxa, predominantly tiny marsupials (mostly endemic and new genera). The presence of these marsupials suggests the existence of some form of isolating barrier (climatic and/or geographic), which must have allowed development of this endemic fauna. Comparisons with faunas assigned to the Itaboraian (late Paleocene), Riochican (late Paleocene), Casamayoran (early Eocene), and Mustersan (tentatively assigned to the middle Eocene) ages of Patagonia were made. The assemblage of terrestrial vertebrates of the La Meseta Formation is unusual in the dominance of several endemic forms. The occurrence of protodidelphid and derorhynine marsupials, that had become extinct elsewhere in the Eocene of South America, on Seymour Island also indicates that isolation may have allowed extended survival of these taxa in the Eocene of Antarctica. The nature, distribution, and composition of the La Meseta fauna firmly suggest a latitudinal differentiation in the middle Eocene. Paleogeographic evidence suggests that the terrestrial mammals of the La Meseta Formation probably lived under crepuscular and even extended nocturnal conditions (assuming that the angle of the earth's spin axis was relatively the same as it is now) during part of the year. KEY WORDS. Antarctic Peninsula. Eocene. High latitude fauna. Mammals. Palaeobiogeography. Resumen. VERTEBRADOS EOCENOS TERRESTRES DE ALTAS LATITUDES DE ANTÁRTIDA ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Antártida Seymour Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Patagonia Seymour ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) Seymour Island ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Spanish |
topic |
Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 |
spellingShingle |
Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 Marcelo A. Reguero Sergio F. Vizcaíno Francisco J. Goin Sergio A. Marenssi Sergio N. Santillana EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
topic_facet |
Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 |
description |
Abstract. A moderately diverse terrestrial biota is known from the Eocene - ?early Oligocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The La Meseta Formation fills an incised valley and comprises sediments that represent deltaic, estuarine and very shallow marine environments. Forests of both deciduous and evergreen trees were dominated by Nothofagus, podocarps, and araucarian conifers. The La Meseta paleoflora is distinctive in having a predominance of Antarctic taxa; this suggests a seasonal, cold-temperate, rainy climate and a latitudinal gradient. Among the terrestrial vertebrates, there are at least nine mammal taxa, predominantly tiny marsupials (mostly endemic and new genera). The presence of these marsupials suggests the existence of some form of isolating barrier (climatic and/or geographic), which must have allowed development of this endemic fauna. Comparisons with faunas assigned to the Itaboraian (late Paleocene), Riochican (late Paleocene), Casamayoran (early Eocene), and Mustersan (tentatively assigned to the middle Eocene) ages of Patagonia were made. The assemblage of terrestrial vertebrates of the La Meseta Formation is unusual in the dominance of several endemic forms. The occurrence of protodidelphid and derorhynine marsupials, that had become extinct elsewhere in the Eocene of South America, on Seymour Island also indicates that isolation may have allowed extended survival of these taxa in the Eocene of Antarctica. The nature, distribution, and composition of the La Meseta fauna firmly suggest a latitudinal differentiation in the middle Eocene. Paleogeographic evidence suggests that the terrestrial mammals of the La Meseta Formation probably lived under crepuscular and even extended nocturnal conditions (assuming that the angle of the earth's spin axis was relatively the same as it is now) during part of the year. KEY WORDS. Antarctic Peninsula. Eocene. High latitude fauna. Mammals. Palaeobiogeography. Resumen. VERTEBRADOS EOCENOS TERRESTRES DE ALTAS LATITUDES DE ANTÁRTIDA ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marcelo A. Reguero Sergio F. Vizcaíno Francisco J. Goin Sergio A. Marenssi Sergio N. Santillana |
author_facet |
Marcelo A. Reguero Sergio F. Vizcaíno Francisco J. Goin Sergio A. Marenssi Sergio N. Santillana |
author_sort |
Marcelo A. Reguero |
title |
EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
title_short |
EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
title_full |
EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
title_fullStr |
EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
title_full_unstemmed |
EOCENE HIGH-LATITUDE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES FROM ANTARCTICA AS BIOGEOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE |
title_sort |
eocene high-latitude terrestrial vertebrates from antarctica as biogeographic evidence |
publisher |
Asociación Paleontológica Argentina |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/0786b2ad4f3b40e4a5728d59be7287cf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Patagonia Seymour Seymour Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Patagonia Seymour Seymour Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Antártida Seymour Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Antártida Seymour Island |
op_source |
Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Vol 5, Iss 1 (2015) |
op_relation |
https://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/view/190 https://doaj.org/toc/2469-0228 2469-0228 https://doaj.org/article/0786b2ad4f3b40e4a5728d59be7287cf |
_version_ |
1766260414305271808 |